Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack Obama

Monday, November 10, 2008

Vigil on Nov 15 at Speakers Corner for peace in Sri Lanka; Circle of Violence - A short film about the conflict in Sri Lanka

Thanks to my friend Rachel for informing me of this event via facebook. You can sign-up/log-in to view the event here or visit the worldwithoutwar.sg website.

The Vigil for peace in Sri Lanka will be held at Hong Lim Park aka Speakers' Corner on Nov 15 (Sat) and is scheduled to begin at 5pm and end at 7pm. From the event's facebook page,

The civil war in Sri Lanka is one of the world's deadliest ongoing armed conflicts, causing significant harm to the population, environment and severe damage to the economy of the country. Now 25 years running, it has claimed at least 215,000 lives and displaced more than 1.5 million people.

The possibility of a lasting peace was raised when a cease-fire agreement was signed with international mediation in 2002. However on January 2, 2008 the government formally announced withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement and the conflict has escalated to critical levels in the recent months. Donor countries such as the United States, Canada, and Norway have shown deep regrets on this decision by the Sri Lankan government.

On September 9, 2008, the Government of Sri Lanka ordered all aid agencies to leave the northern areas of conflict and take their equipment with them. UN agencies and international relief organizations including Oxfam, Save The Children and the Danish Refugee Council that have been delivering food and medical aid to nearly 200,000 refugees in the affected region started to pull out.

The international community must take decisive steps to pressure the Government of Sri Lanka to abandon the path of militarism and opt for a negotiated political settlement.

Join us at Speakers' Corner, Singapore on this day to light a candle and show your support for peace in Sri Lanka.

Visit BBC World News' page on Sri Lanka and Amnesty International's reports and statements on the conflict there. And here for my previous blogpost about a one-man demonstration.

This is a 2007 short film by Journeyman Pictures called Circle of Violence about the conflict in Sri Lanka. You can either watch the 27min film here in one go or below in 3-parts,

Beyond Suspicion?

Click here to read the report Prosperity versus individual rights? Human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Singapore by the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute. Click here for their statement.